The instant invention relates to the field of vehicle jacks and, particularly, to the area of load-levelling supports for trailers or motor homes. With the recent advent and widespread use of recreational vehicles, a need has arisen to provide a level, non-wheel support for such units. While numerous devices have been advanced to support vehicles, all have involved high-stress designs and few or no safety features. While the idea of using offset pivot points to raise a jack from the vertical position has heretofore been known in the art (See, for example, Hansen, U.S. Pat. No. 3,362,683), these types of support devices require a high-stress torque arm to accomplish the deployment and are unstable because they depend upon the hydraulic cylinder itself for stability in all directions. While other devices provide stabilizing devices in addition to the deployment apparatus, as in Hauser, U.S. Pat. No. 3,817,493, none of the current inventions solves the problem of a structure sufficiently stable yet placing little stress on the horizontal actuating member.
Safety features or warning devices are virtually unknown in the field and it is an object of this invention to supply a safe device for levelling vehicles.
The present invention also provides both a low-stress retracting mechanism and a simple stabilizing mechanism. By employing three pivot points rather than two and a stabilizing sleeve rather than a complicated latching mechanism, the instant device solves both problems. Additionally, the present invention provides simple, yet effective, safety and signalling mechanisms to further enhance the self-deploying vehicle jack. The invention also provides a safety mechanism which automatically raises any deployed jack should the ignition switch be turned on while the jacks are deployed. A manual override switch allows the operator to run the engine with the jacks deployed, should that condition be desired.
One object of this invention is to provide a low-stress highly stable vehicle jack. Another object of this invention is to provide a vehicle jack with pressure and position signalling safety features to enhance the utility of self-deploying vehicle jacks. A still further object of this invention is to provide a simple yet sturdy vehicle stabilizing device that automatically deploys jacks and signals the operator when in an activated position. Other and further objects of the invention will become obvious upon perusal of the Specifications herein.